Work handling mechanism for forging presses and the like



N 1966 A. R. KULL 3,282,079

WORK HANDLING MECHANISM FOR FORGING PRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed May 16, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ALBERT R. KULL N v- 1, 19 A. R. KULL 3,282,079

WORK HANDLING MECHANISM FOR FORGING PRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed May 16, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ALBERT R. KULL wail, 7774570 3) AT '[QRNEYS A. R. KULL Nov. 1, 1966 WORK HANDLING MECHANISM FOR FORGING PRESSES AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 16, 1965 INVENTOR.

ALBERT R. KULL ATTORNEY Nov. 1, 1966 A. R. KULL 3,282,079

WORK HANDLING MECHANISM FOR FORGING PRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed May 16, 1963 5 Sheets'Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

ALBERT W. KULL A. R. KULL Nov. 1, 1966 WORK HANDLING MECHANISM FOR FORGING PRESSES AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 16, 1963 FIG-8 INVENTOR. ALBERT R. KULL ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,282,6979 WGRK HANDLING MECHANISM FOR FURGKNG PRESSES AND THE lLllKE Albert R. Kull, lleachwood, Ohio, assignor to The Ajax Manufacturing Company, Euclid, Uhio, a corporation of @hio Filed May 16, 1963, Ser. No. 280,965 31 tClaims. (Cl. '7213) This invention relates generally, as indicated, to a work handling mechanism for forging presses and the like and more particularly to a forging press and transfer mechanism therefor which is capable of obtaining fully automatic production of workpieces such as valve members.

In the shaping of hot slugs into valve members such as those of the poppet type, automatic production is difficult to obtain due to the shape of the valve member and due to the heated nature thereof. A heated slug must be fed to the forging machine and at the first work station will be partially formed to the desired shape. The workpiece must then be transferred to a further work station for completion of the shaping operation. However, due to the loss of heat from the workpiece by the cooling action of the dies, a certain time interval should ordinarily lapse before the second or final finishing operation is performed. This permits the heat within the workpiece to radiate to the outer surfaces thereof and be uniformly distributed therethrough. Also in the interim, the dies should be lubricated. The transfer of the slug to the machine and the workpiece from one station to the next should then be performed at the proper rate in order to obtain the desired product. This is, needless to say, quite difficult to perform manually requiring tedious and repetitive physical manipulations and mental computations by the operator.

It is accordingly a principal object of the present invention to provide a forging machine which will produce automatically workpieces such as poppet valve members at the optimum rate of speed.

it is a further principal object of the present invention to provide a work handling mechanism which can readily be installed on existing forging presses.

Still another obiect is the provision of special work gripping fingers which cooperate with work ejectors to remove the workpiece from one set of dies to transfer them to the next set.

A yet further object isthe provision of special work gripping fingers which will not only lift the workpiece from the bottom die at one station but which will properly insert the workpiece at the next station.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation partially broken away and in section of a forging machine in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section of such forging machine taken substantially on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a further horizontal section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

3,28Zfi7h Patented Nov. 1, 1966 "ice FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detail view taken on the line S-5 of FIG. 2 illustrating the adjustment mechanism for the ejector pins;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view partially in section illustrating the latch mechanism employed to hold the transfer mechanism in mid-stroke;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detail section taken through the feed chute on the line 7-7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 7 taken substantially on the line 8--8 thereof;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in FIG. 7 taken substantially from the line 99 thereof; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged top plan view of one of the two transfer mechanisms employed with the illustrated embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now more particularly to the annexed drawings and especially to FIGS. 1 through 4, there is illustrated a forging machine in accordance with the present invention which may comprise a single one-piece casting which forms the upright frame of the machine. Such frame includes four columns 1, 2, 3 and 4. Between such columns 1 through 4 are windows 5, 6, 7 and 8 providing access to the center of the frame in which the punches and dies are mounted. The bottom dies 9 and 1!) are mounted on bolsters 11 in turn seated on the bed 12 of the frame.

As seen perhaps more clearly in FIG. 2, the top dies or punches 114 are mounted on a vertically movable ram 15. The punches 14 are removably held in place by means of wedges re in turn held by adjusting screws 17. The ram 15 is mounted on two vertically extending guide rods 2i) and 21. The ram l5 will be driven for vertical movement by the conventional eccentric from the press eccentric shaft which will be driven through one complete revolution by the usual brake and clutch mechanism. For one complete cycle, the .ram will be driven from its top stroke position downwardly striking the workpiece and then returning to its top position. The clutch will be energized or engaged and the brake released to cause the press to cycle and similarly the clutch will be released and the brake set to stop the-ram 15 at the top of its stroke. Such clutch and brake operated presses are gen erally conventional, reference being had to applicants copending application, Serial No. 230,663, filed October 12, 1962 entitled Work Transfer Mechanism for Forging Presses and the Like now Patent No. 3,180,123 for a more clear disclosure of such presses.

The windows 5, 6, '7 and S then provide access to the dies, the window 8 being employed to feed workpieces to the dies, the window 5 oeing employed to mount thereon a Calco automatic reciprocating die lubricator shown generally at 22, the window 6 being employed to receive the finished workpiece, and the window 7 being employed to mount a transfer mechanism shown generally at 23.

Starting first with the feed mechanism for the workpieces or slugs and referring now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 3, an induction heater 25 is mounted on a stand 26 supporting the heater on the floor F some distance from the window 3 of the frame of the press. An inclined chute or trough 27 extending from the discharge end 23 of the heater 25 is mounted on brackets 2% on the stand 26 and a bracket 3% which may be mounted on a loading slide mounting platform 31. The platform 31 is in turn mounted on removable rails 32 and 33 extending from the support stand 26 to a plate 34.- mounted just inside the columns 1 and 4 of the forging press frame. The rails 32 and 33, which may be cylindrical rods, may be threaded into the plate 34 and, of course, removable from the brackets 35 and 36 supporting such rods, re-

spectively, on the stand 26. The inclined chute 27 thus extends downwardly from the discharge 28 of the induction heater into the window 8 of the forging frame. The chute is connected at the bracket 30 to a tubular spout 38 which drops the heated slug into a loading slide 39 provided with oppositely extending rollers 40 at each end thereof mounted in ways 41 and 42 which are in turn mounted on the loading slide mounting platform 31. The rod 44 of loading slide actuating cylinder 45 is connected to the loading slide 39 and such cylinder is fixedly mounted on the platform 31. The platform 31, however, may be adjusted along the rails 32 and 33 to control the pick up and drop positions of the slug. The loading slide 39 in its retracted position will have the slug receptacle 47 therein aligned with the bottom of the spout 38 to receive a heated slug therein. A heat sensing photocell 43 mounted on the underside of the platform 31 may be employed to actuate the loading slide cylinder 45 extending the same to cause the heated slug to slide along plate 49 mounted on the platform 31 to drop into the first bottom die 9. A limit switch 50 may be employed to sense the forward movement of the slide 39 and will function as hereinafter described.

In the window 7 there is mounted a door 52 on hinge pins 53, 54 and 55 supporting the door for swinging movement on hinge bracket 56 about the aligned axes of such pins. The door may be latched in a closed position by a pin 57 on the opposite side from the hinge pins. The door is thus mounted for swinging movement on the face of the column 3 of the frame so that it may be swung into position in register with the window 7 or pivoted about the axes of the hinge pins to a position opening or clearing such window for access to the dies.

' The door 52 is provided with a bottom shelf 60 supported therein projecting into the frame of the press through the window opening 7. A vertically extending Wall 61 in the plane of the door 52 is supported by braces or gussets 62 on the exterior side thereof. A top shelf 63 extends from the interior of the wall 61 and vertically extending walls 64 are situated between the top shelf 63 and the bottom shelf 60 to rigidify such top shelf. The walls 64 also serve to mount a horizontally extending shaft 65 on which is mounted a bell crank lever having two long arms 66 each distally pivoted to yokes 67 on the bottoms of pedestals 68 and a9 which project upwardly through hubs 70 and 71, respectively, mounted on the top shelf 63. Pivoting movement of the bell crank arms 66 is obtained by means of the single short centrally located arm 72 of the bell crank being distally pivoted at 73 to the rod '74 of piston-cylinder assembly 75. The rod 74 projects through an opening in the wall 61 and such piston-cylinder assembly 75 is mounted on a bracket 76 on the exterior of such wall. Thus the pedestals or shafts 68 and 69 may be raised or lowered by extension or retraction of the pistoncylinder assembly 75. On top of each hub 70 and 71 there is provided an arm as seen at 78 and 79 in FIG. 6. These arms are keyed to the pedestals or shafts 68 and 69 so that movement thereof will rotate such pedestals, but keyed in such a manner that the piston-cylinder assembly 75 may raise or lower such pedestals through such arms. The distal ends of the arms 78 and 79 are pivotally connected to a link 80 which includes a laterally directed end portion 81 to which is pivoted the rod 82 of piston-cylinder assembly 83. The blind end of the piston-cylinder assembly 83 is pivoted to bracket 84 mounted on the interior of the wall 61. Extension and retraction of the piston-cylinder assembly 83 will, accordingly, move the arms 78 and 79 in unison to pivot the pedestals 68 and 69 in unison. The link 80 is provided with a dog 85 adapted to engage a retractable latch 86 actuated by a pneumatic piston-cylinder assembly 87 mounted on the exterior of the wall 61. When the latch 86 is extended by the piston-cylinder assembly 87, it will engage the dog 85 halting the link 80 and thus the arms 78 and 79 in phantom line position indicated at 89. The function of this latch mechanism will more clearly hereinafter be described.

Mounted on top of the pedestals 68 and 69 are work gripping and transfer mechanisms 90 and 91 which are substantially identical in form. The only basic difference between such work gripping and transfer mechanisms is the shape of the work gripping fingers employed, this being due to the progressive shaping of the slug. The pedestal 68 will, of course, be equidistant from the two work stations. In view of the similarity of the two work transfer units 90 and 91, only the transfer unit 91 will be described in detail, and identical parts in each may be accorded the same reference numerals.

Referring now to FIG. 10, it will be seen that the transfer unit 91 comprises a support 92 having an upstanding rear wall 93 on which is mounted a piston-cylinder assembly 94. The rod 95 of such piston-cylinder assembly is connected to a block 96 mounted in ways or guides 97 and 98 on the support 92. The block 96 is also connected to a fingeror tong operating rod 99 extending through a finger slide 100 also mounted for sliding movement in the ways 97 and 98 of the support 92. The outer end of the operating rod 99 is pivoted at 101 to links 102 and 103. The opposite ends of such links are pivotally connected to laterally offset portions 104 and 105, respectively, of the fingers 106 and 107. Such fingers are also pivoted together at 108 and also to the projection 109 of the finger slide 100.

Stop rods 110 and 111 threaded in the finger slide 100 project loosely through the block 96 and are provided with heads 112 and 113, respectively. Counterbores are provided in the bores in the block 96 accommodating the rods 110 and 111 and in such counterbores there are provided compression springs 114 and 115. A stop 116 may be employed to limit movement of the finger slide 100 toward the work stations.

The operation of the work gripping fingers is now b lieved apparent. When the piston-cylinder assembly 94 is retracted, the rods 95 will pull the block 96 toward the cylinder 94 until such block engages the heads 112 and 113 of the stop rods 110 and 111. This will pull the finger operating rod 99 through the finger slide 100 causing the fingers to pivot about the common pivot 108 in opposite directions opening the fingers to release a workpiece held in the mating notched portions 117 thereof. When the block 96 engages the heads 112 and 113, continued retraction of the rod 95 will now pull the finger slide 100 to the rear along the ways 97 and 98 retracting the fingers from the area between the punches and dies. The compression springs 114 and 115 will maintain the spacing of the finger slide 100 and the block 96 now achieved. When it is desired to extend the fingers to grip a workpiece, the rod 95 will be extended by the piston-cylinder assembly 94 causing the block 96 to move forward along the ways 97 and 98 with the compression springs 114 and 115 also pushing the finger slide 100 therealong. When the finger slide engages the stop 116, continued extension of the rod 95 will compress the springs 114 and 115 causing relative movement between the slide 100 and the block 96 extending the finger operating rod 99 to cause the fingers 106 and 107 to pivot toward each other about their common pivot 108.

The transfer mechanisms 90 and 91 will be maintained parallel to each other by reason of their being fixedly secured to the top of the pedestals 68 and 69 and by reason of the parallelogram linkage 78, 80 and 79.

It will be understood that the lost motion connection between the finger slide 100 and the block 96 permits a single piston-cylinder assembly to be employed both for the opening and closing of the fingers and also for the retraction of the fingers to clear the area between the punch and die. Moreover, the compression springs 114 and 115 permit the workpiece to be gripped resiliently between the fingers avoiding damage to the transfer mechanism or the workpiece should such workpiece be improperly gripped between the fingers. Furthermore, the pneumatic pressure actuating the piston-cylinder assembly 94- for the respective transfer mechanisms and 91 also acts as cushions avoiding excessive work gripping pressures.

The door 52 on which the transfer mechanisms are mounted is provided with a projection 119 which engages a safety limit switch 120 when the door 52 is properly closed. A safety limit switch 122 is also provided adapted to be engaged by door 123 hinged at 12 -1 on which the die lubricators 22 are mounted. (See FIG. 3.)

The die lubricators 22 include two nozzles 125 and 126 which are laterally spaced a distance equal to the spacing of the bottom dies 9 and 10. The lubricator 22 is mounted on the shelf 127 ofthe door 123. A pistoncylinder assembly 128 may be employed to extend and retract the nozzles 125 and 126. A dog 129 on rod 130 may be employed to engage switch operator 131 to supply air under pressure through supply line 133 to blow scale out of the dies and then spray them with a film of lubricant. When the proper function of the die lubricators has been performed, they will be retracted in sequence. Like the transfer mechanisms, the mounting of the die lubricators on the swinging door facilitates their convenient removal for access to the center of the machine frame.

Ejector pins 141) are provided for each of the bottom dies 9 and 10. The ejector pins may be mounted on ejector rods 14 1 extending through sleeves 142 in the bed 12 of the press. Each ejector rod is provided with a bottom frame portion 143 in which is slidably mounted the pivot 144 of one end of ejector lever 145. Such ejector lever is intermediately pivoted at 146 to the bottom of the machine frame and at the opposite end at 147 to the respective rods 150 of piston-cylinder assemblies 151 and 152. The piston-cylinder assembly 151 will operate the ejector pin for the die 10 and the piston-cylinder assembly 152 will operate the ejector pin for the die 9.

The blind ends of the piston-cylinder assemblies 151 and 152 are pivoted at 153 and 154, respectively, to vertically adjustable brackets 155 and 156. Adjusting screws 157 and 153 are threaded into such brackets and operating handles 159 and 160 may be employed to rotate such screws vertically to move the brackets 155 and 156, respectively, along ways 161 and 162. A scale 163 may be provided between such ways and pointers on the respective brackets may be employed to cooperate therewith so that the operator can closely regulate the vertical positions of the brackets and thus the height obtained by the ejector pins 140 when the piston-cylinder assemblies 151 and 152 are extended. It will, of course, be understood that the stroke of the ejector pins 14-0 must be such as to cooperate with the work gripping fingers to enable the latter properly to grip the workpieces when they are lifted from the bottom dies by the ejector pins.

In order to ensure that a heated slug will not be fed to the machine during a particular portion of the cycle, a trap door 165 is provided in the inclined chute 27 operated by piston-cylinder assembly 166. (Reference may be had to detail views 7, 8 and 9 for a more clear disclosure of the trap door and its operation.)

As seen in FIG. 7, the inclined chute 27 comprises a relatively steeply inclined side wall 167 and a less steeply inclined wall 163 normal thereto. The trap door 165 is provided in the wall 168 and is mounted in a closely confining opening 169 therein. The trap door 165 is fixed to a pivot pin 176 which extends between bar 171 closing one side of the opening 169 and through a hub 172. An arm 173 is fixed to the end of the shaft or pivot pin projecting beyond the hub 172 and is pivoted at 174 at its outer end to the rod 175 of pistoncylinder assembly 166. The blind end of the pistoncylinder assembly is fastened to the outside of the wall 167 of the chute 2'7 by means of bracket 176. It can now be seen that when the piston-cylinder assembly 166 is extended, the trap door 165 will be pivoted from the full line position shown in FIG. 9 to the phantom line position 177. In the phantom line position, the trap door 165 will serve to deflect any heated slugs coming down the inclined chute through the aperture 169 and such slugs may be collected and refed through the induction heater 25. In the full line or closed position of the trap door, the door constitutes a substantial planar continuation of the wall 168 of the trough.

Beneath the door 52 on which the transfer mechanism is mounted, there is provided a rotary cam limit switch drive motor 179 driving a rotary cam limit switch 180 through a speed reducer 181. The rotary cam limit switch including its drive motor may conveniently be mounted on a shelf 182 secured to the side of the press frame.

Operation Before automatic operation of the machine, certain starting conditions must be obtained. For example, the transfer mechanism mounting door 52 on what may be termed the front of the press and the lubricator mounting door 123 on what may be termed the rear of the press both must be fully closed and latched. Safety switches 120 and 122 for the doors 52 and 123, respectively, may be in series with the main power supply of the press so that such switches must be activated before power can be supplied to the press. Also, the transfer fingers of each transfer mechanism 9% and 91 must be fully retracted, open, and to the extreme left as seen in FIG. 3. Further, the lubricator 22 must be retracted to ensure proper sequencing of the mechanism. All air and lubricating valves are then turned on.

The operator may now press a master start button which will start the press drive motor and also supply current to the induction heating unit 25. When the fiywheel of the press reaches the proper speed, the operator will press a run button which will start the slugs or workpieces moving through the induction heater. From this point, the entire operation may automatically be sequenced.

As the slug emerges from the unit 25, it will slide down the inclined chute 27 crossing the closed trap door 65 and through the spout 38 will drop into the receptacle 47 in the transfer slide 39. When the slug, which may be a small cylindrical billet, drops into the receptacle 47, the heat sensing unit 48 will actuate a switch causing the piston-cylinder assembly 4-5 now to extend. The slide will now move the heated slug forwardly positioning the same in the first station lower die 9. As the slide reaches its forward position, it will trip limit switch 50 seen in FIG. 1 releasing the press brake and setting the clutch causing the press to start to cycle. The switch 50 also actuates the trap door 165 by extending the pistoncylinder assembly 166 pivoting the door to the phantonrline position 177 shown in FIG. 9 thereby to deflect any slugs which may emerge from the heater 25 before the cycle of the press, now started, is complete.

As the press ram 15 travels down, it may trip a limit switch 185 causing the slide to return to its pick up position wherein the receptacle 47 is aligned with the bottom of the spent 38. The ram continues its downward travel striking the workpiece in the first work station or the initial bottom die 9 and then starts back up. When it obtains a position on the up stroke where the punches are well clear of the bottom dies another limit switch 186 (FIG. 1) is tripped starting the drive motor 179 for the rotary cam limit switch 180.

The ram continues up and the clutch is released and brake set so as to stop the ram at the top of its stroke. The press will not repeat until the transfer of the workpiece from the first station into the second is completed and the next cycle has started.

The rotary cam limit switch 180 is the mechanism employed to control the motions of the transfer fingers. Its

various cams make and break contacts in proper order to activate the various cylinders in the correct sequence. Initially, the switch 180 will energize the piston-cylinder assemblies 151 and 152 elevating the kicker pins 140 to the correct adjusted height ascertained by the adjustments of the piston-cylinder assemblies by means of the hand cranks 159 and 160 and with the aid of scale 163. The kicker cam of the rotary earn limit switch 180 will, of course, be synchronized to have the workpiece ejected from the bottom dies to the proper height for the fingers of the transfer mechanisms 90 and 91 to come in and grip the workpiece at the proper time.

A cam in the switch 180 may now cause the fingers to move in and close on the workpiece and simultaneously extend piston-cylinder assembly 87 to position the latch 86 to engage the dog 85 on the link 80 as seen in FIG. 6. The work gripping fingers will be both extended and closed by means of the piston-cylinder assemblies 94 operating the same. When the workpiece has been properly gripped, another cam in the switch 180 will close contacts that operate the bell crank arms 66 elevating the pedestals 68 and 69 to raise the fingers and thus pull the workpiece clear of the first die in order that it may be swung into position over the next station. As the fingers reach their highest point, another cam in the switch 180 will start the fingers rotating through the transfer are which intersects the successive work stations by retracting the piston-cylinder assembly 83. This motion will be' halted in mid stroke when the protrusion or dog 85 on the link 80 contacts the now extended latch 86. The partially formed workpiece will now be held between the bottom dies 9 and and the transfer mechanisms 90 and 91 will be substantially in the position shown in FIG. 1.

With the workpiece transfer mechanism thus halted, at this time another cam in the switch 180 acts to shut off the switch drive motor 179 and start the automatic reciprocating die lubricator 22 through its cycle. The piston-cylinder assembly 128 will now be extended to move the nozzles 125 and 126 into position over the bottom dies, first blowing out the scale therein, and secondly spraying the dies with an oil mist. When this is accomplished, the nozzles will be retracted automatically by the piston-cylinder assembly 128. This halting of the transfer in mid-stroke, not only permits the die lubricator to move through its cycle, but also permits the heat within the partially formed workpiece to return to its outer surface. During the initial forging operation, some of the heat in the workpiece will be lost through the dies and it will take a certain time for the heat of the body of the workpiece to radiate to the outer surface thereof so that the workpiece will be properly uniformly heated for the next forging operation. If desired, an optical heat sensing unit can be employed to determine when the workpiece is properly uniformly heated. The time required for the heat to return to the surface of the workpiece can, however, usually be empirically determined so that upon reaching the return position, the die lubricator will trip a limit switch which will restart the rotary cam limit switch drive motor 179 and also retract the latch 86 allowing the piston-cylinder assembly 83 to complete the swinging of the transfer fingers through the complete arc. The workpiece then drawn from the first bottom die 9 will now be positioned directly over the second bottom die It It will, of course, be understood that a workpiece pulled from the second die 10 will now be swung out through the window 6 to be deposited in a waiting bin when the fingers are released.

The remaining cams of the rotary cam limit switch 180 then complete the transfer cycle by retracting the piston-cylinder assembly 75 to lower the workpiece into the second die 10, opening the fingers to release the grip on the workpiece by retracting the piston-cylinder assemblies 94, also retracting the fingers, and finally swinging the transfer mechanisms back to their starting position or to the full line position shown in FIG. 3 by extending the piston-cylinder assembly 33 where the mechanism will then shut off the drive motor 179 of the rotary cam limit switch and also shut the trap door in the chute 27 by retracting the piston-cylinder assembly 166. With the trap door now shut, delivery of another cylindrical slug S to the slide is then permitted for the beginning of another cycle.

It is apparent that the entire machine is covered with safety devices which will stop the operation of the machine in the event of any malfunction during the course of the cycle. The machine is thus protected from equipment damage and the operator from personal injury. If desired, the source of the particular malfunction or trouble may be indicated by means of trouble lights on the control panel. Additionally, provisions may be made for the operator to jog the machine or in other words to control each' and every motion manually by means of suitably arranged push buttons.

It can now be seen that there is provided a vertical type forging machine and transfer mechanism therefor A capable of completely automatically shaping heated slugs into poppet valves and other such items.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

I, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In a forging press of the type having an upstanding frame, a ram vertically movable in said frame, top dies carried by said ram for vertical movement therewith, corresponding bottom dies mounted on said frame vertically aligned with the respective dies carried by said ram and cooperating to forge workpieces therebetween; a transfer mechanism for transferring workpieces to suecessive cooperating dies comprising a pair of work gripping fingers, means mounting said pair of work gripping fingers for horizontal swinging movement about a vertically extending axis equally spaced from said successive cooperating dies, means to raise and lower said pair of fingers, and means operative to extend said fingers and close the same on a workpiece at the first of said successive cooperating dies and open said fingers and retract the same at the second of said successive cooperating dies.

2. A forging press as set forth in claim 1 including means operative to stop said pair of work gripping fingers between said successive cooperating dies.

3. A forging press as set forth in claim 1 including means responsive to the position of said ram operative to elevate a workpiece from the bottom die of said first successive cooperating dies and subsequently to extend and close said pair of work gripping fingers on the workpiece thus positioned.

4. A forging press as set forth in claim 1 including an induction heating unit, a loading slide, means operative to transfer a workpiece from said induction heating unit to said loading slide, means operative in response to the presence of a heated workpiece in said loading slide to extend said slide to position such workpiece between the top and bottom dies of said first cooperating dies.

5. A forging press as set forth in claim 1 including a second transfer mechanism including a pair of work gripping fingers mounted in parallelism and for simultaneous action with said first transfer mechanism for transferring workpieces from the second of said successive cooperating dies.

6. A forging press as set forth in claim 1 wherein said transfer mechanism is mounted on a door hinged to said upstanding frame for swinging movement about a vertically extending axis, and safety switch means operative in response to the closing of said door.

7. A forging press as set forth in claim 1 wherein said transfer mechanism comprises a support mounted 9 for such swinging movement, a finger slide reciprocably mounted on said support, said fingers being pivoted together and to said finger slide, means to reciprocate said finger slide on said support thus to extend and retract said pair of fingers.

8. A forging press as set forth in claim It including an induction heating unit, a transfer slide horizontally reciprocably mounted to and from a position between the first of said successive cooperating dies, an inclined chute leading from said induction heating unit to said transfer slide to deposit heated workpieces in said slide when retracted, and heat sensing means operative to extend said slide when a workpiece is deposited therein by said inclined chute.

9. A forging press as set forth in claim 8 including a trap door in said inclined chute, and means responsive to the extension of said slide operative to open said trap door to deflect heated workpieces which may then emerge from the induction heating unit.

10. A forging press as set forth in claim 8 including a mounting platform for said loading slide, a pistoncylinder assembly on said mounting platform operative to reciprocate said loading slide, and horizontal rail means extending into said press on which said loading slide platform is mounted.

11. A transfer mechanism for a vertical forging press comprising a pair of work gripping fingers, means mounting said pair of fingers for swinging movement on an arc intersecting consecutive work stations of such forging press, means vertically to elevate said pair of fingers at one work station, means operative to swing said pair of fingers along such are into registry with the next work station, and means operative vertically to lower said pair of fingers thus to transfer a workpiece from such first to such next work station; a support for said pair of work gripping fingers, post means mounting said support on a vertical axis equidistant from such consecutive work stations, and means operative to extend and retract said pair of work gripping fingers on said support. 1

12. A transfer mechanism as set forth in claim 11 including arm mounted on said post, a piston-cylinder assembly connected to said arm operative to swing said post and thus said fingers through such arc.

13. A transfer mechanism as set forth in claim 12 including means to halt the swinging of said fingers between such consecutive work stations.

14. A transfer mechanism for a vertical forging press having consecutive work stations, a pair of work gripping fingers, means operative to extend said fingers while open, means responsive to the complete extension thereof to close said fingers, means operative to move said fingers while closed from one to the other of such consecutive work stations, means operative to open said fingers, and means responsive to the opening of said fingers to retract the same.

15. A transfer mechanism as set forth in claim 14 including a support for said pair of fingers, a finger slide mounted on said support, means pivoting said pair of fingers to each other and to said finger slide, and means operative to reciprocate said finger slide thus to extend and retract said fingers.

16. A transfer mechanism as set forth in claim 15 wherein said means operative to reciprocate said finger slide comprises a piston-cylinder assembly, and a lost motion connection between said piston-cylinder assembly and said pair of fingers operative to close said fingers in response to the complete extension thereof and to retract said fingers in response to the opening thereof.

17. A transfer mechanism as set forth inclaim 14 including means to elevate said fingers when in registry with the first of such consecutive work stations, and to lower said pair of fingers when in registry with the next consecutive work station.

18. A transfer mechanism as set forth in claim 14 including a frame on which said pair of fingers are mounted, and means adapted to pivot said frame to such vertical forging press.

19. A transfer mechanism for a vertical forging press having consecutive work stations, a pair of work gripping fingers, means operative to extend, close, open, and retract said pair of work gripping fingers, means to shift said fingers while closed, and means to elevate and lower said fingers while closed.

26. A transfer mechanism as set forth in claim 19 including work piece ejector means operative properly vertically to position such workpieces at such work stations prior to being gripped by said pair of work gripping fingers.

21. A transfer mechanism as set forth in claim 20 wherein said workpiece ejector means comprises ejector pins, level means operative vertically to move said ejector pins, piston-cylinder means operative to move said level means, and means operative to adjust the position of said piston-cylinder means thus to control the vertical movement of said ejector pins.

22. In a forging machine of the type having a vertical frame, a ram driven for reciprocation in said frame, a set of dies carried for movement by said ram, a set of cooperating dies mounted on said frame cooperating with said ram dies to forge workpieces therebetween, a transfer mechanism for transferring workpieces successively to cooperating dies comprising a pair of work gripping fingers for each set of dies, means responsive to the vertical position of said ram to extend said fingers while open, means responsive to the complete extension thereof to close said fingers, means operative to move said fingers while closed from one set of dies to the next set of-dies, means operative to open said fingers when in registry with said next set of dies, and means responsive to the opening of said fingers to retract the same.

23. A forging machine as set forth in claim 22 including a loading slide for the first of said set of corresponding dies, an induction heater unit, means operative to feed a heated workpiece from said induction heate-r unit to said loading slide comprising an inclined chute, means on said inclined chute operative to block further feeding of heated workpieces to said loading slide prior to the completion of a press cycle, and heat sensing means mounted beneath said loading slide operative to sense the position of a workpiece therein thereby to extend said slide to deposit such workpiece between said first set of cooperating dies.

24. A forging press as set forth in claim 22 wherein each pair of work gripping fingers is mounted on a vertically extending post, a support on top of said post, a finger slide reciprocably mounted on said support, the work gripping fingers of each pair being pivoted together and to the respective finger slide, a piston-cylinder assembly connected to each finger slide operative to extend and retract the same and thus said pair of work gripping fingers, and lost motion means connecting said pistoncylinder assembly with said fingers operative to close said fingers when extended and to open said fingers prior to retraction.

25. A forging press as set forth in claim 24 including ejector means operative vertically to elevate the work pieces from the corresponding dies mounted on said frame properly vertically to position such workpieces prior to being gripped by said pairs of work gripping fingers.

26. A forging machine as set forth in claim 25 including a piston-cylinder means to operate said ejector means, means to adjust the position of said piston-cylinder means thus to control the height, such workpieces are ejected from the dies mounted on said frame, and scale means operative to facilitate such adjustment.

27. A transfer mechanism as set forth in claim 24- including piston-cylinder means operative to swing said pairs of work gripping fingers when extended through arcs intersecting adjacent corresponding dies.

28. A transfer mechanism as set forth in claim 27 11 Including piston-cylinder operated latch means operative to halt such swinging of said pair of work gripping fingers intermediate the dies mounted on said frame, and means to blow and lubricate said dies mounted on said frame while said pairs of work gripping fingers are thus halted. I

29. A forging press as set forth in claim 28 including a reciprocating die lubricator operative to blow the scale from said dies mounted on said frame and to lubricate the same while said pairs of work gripping fingers are thus halted.

30. A forging machine as set forth in claim 29 including a swinging door on which said die lubricators are mounted, said swinging door being pivoted to the rear of said machine frame.

31. A forging press as set forth in claim 22 including a door mounted on the front of said press frame, said pairs of work gripping fingers being mounted on said door for swinging movement to and from working position, and safety means operative to preclude operation of said press when said door is open.

References Cited by the Examiner CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner. G. P. CROSBY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A FORGING PRESS OF THE TYPE HAVING AN UPSTANDING FRAME, A RAM VERTICALLY MOVABLE IN SAID FRAME, TOP DIES CARRIED BY SAID RAM FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT THEREWITH, CORRESPONDING BOTTOM DIES MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME VERTICALLY ALIGNED WITH THE RESPECTIVE DIES CARRIED BY SAID RAM AND COOPERATING TO FORGE WORKPIECES THEREBETWEEN; A TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR TRANSFERRING WORKPIECES TO SUCCESSIVE COOPERATING DIES COMPRISING A PAIR OF WORK GRIPPING FINGERS, MEANS MOUNTING SAID PAIR OF WORK GRIPPING FINGERS FOR HORIZONTAL SWINGING MOVEMENT ABOUT A VERTICALLY EXTENDING AXIS EQUALLY SPACED FROM SAID SUCCESSIVE COOPERATING DIES, MEANS TO RAISE AND LOWER SAID PAIR OF FINGERS, AND MEANS OPERATIVE TO EXTEND SAID FINGERS AND CLOSE THE SAME ON A WORKPIECE AT THE FIRST OF SAID SUCCESSIVE COOPERATING DIES AND OPEN SAID FINGERS AND RETRACT THE SAME AT THE SECOND OF SAID SUCCESSIVE COOPERATING DIES. 